What You Need to Know about the UMUC 2018 Virtual Career Fair

Next Wednesday, March 14, UMUC will host its Spring Virtual Career Fair featuring 62 premier employers. Access a list of these employers and what they are recruiting for here. Recruiters are searching for candidates across a wide variety of career areas and locations, so be sure to study this list carefully so you can best plan your time at the event.

The event will open at 9 a.m. EST and will stay open until 1 p.m. EST. To log into the event, click on the event in CareerQuest, and select Registered > Go to Registration.

Once you are logged in, you will see a navigation tab at the top of your screen that looks like this:

Lobby: This is the first page you will see when you first log in. Here, you can watch the welcome video from Dr. Francine Blume, UMUC’s assistant vice president of career development, who will share a few last-minute tips about the event.

Exhibit Hall: Here is where you will see all of the registered employers, and you can click on the booths of those employers who interest you.

Networking Lounge: Click on Live Chat Room to live chat with a career advising specialist from UMUC who can provide one-on-one and group assistance at the event. Here there are also links to the UMUC Community, UMUC Alumni LinkedIn Group, and to Schedule a Career Advising Appointment in CareerQuest.

Briefcase: If you wish, you can download documents employers have uploaded into their booths. These resources will be archived for you in the Briefcase section.

Info Desk: Go here if you need technical support throughout the event. It is staffed by vFairs, the developer of the virtual career fair platform.

Career Prep: Here you can access articles about virtual career fair success and follow-up that come from the UMUC Career Services blog.

Auditorium: View videos with additional virtual career fair tips from UMUC Career Advisors.

Most of your time should be spent in the Exhibit Hall, which looks like this:

If an employer is logged into their booth and ready to chat, there will be a green light next to their name in the Exhibitors Index section. Scroll right and left to see all of the employers available. Simply click on their booth name to learn more and chat. You can click on their booths in the alphabetized list in the Exhibitors Index.

Once you click on an employer booth, there are several links that may be available:

Company: Read a general overview of the company provided by that organization.

Videos: If available, employers will post videos about their organization and/or available job opportunities.

Job Vacancies: Click here to view a list of sample job openings. You can click View Details to read more about each position and click Apply for this Job to submit a resume to this position.

Contact Us: Click here to see an email address allowing you to directly connect with a recruiter after the event.

Chat: Click on this section to enter the employer’s chatroom to group chat with employer representatives and other event attendees.

Users Online: Tells you how many users are currently logged into this booth.

Back to Floor (available in the upper left corner of the screen): Click on this link to connect with another employer in the Exhibit Hall.

To interact with the employers, click on Chat. This will lead you to a group text chat room. Be sure to type out or copy/paste your introduction about yourself. To help gain the attention of the recruiters, try identifying a specific opening that is on their website or in the Job Vacancies tab and ask a specific question about that opportunity.

Recruiters can choose candidates from the Group Chat or who are logged into the event and invite them to a one-on-one chat. This chat can be conducted via text or video. You do not have to turn on the webcam to your computer or mobile device, but this feature can make it faster for you to talk with the recruiters if you wish. If you do choose to use the video chat feature, be sure you are professionally dressed and in an environment where you are distraction-free and with a professional background behind you.

Please note: Only recruiters can invite attendees to a one-on-one chat. The best way to get noticed by the recruiters is to prepare a professional introduction about yourself that is relevant to the company and their needs. As mentioned previously, be sure to also prepare questions about specific job openings that interest you. You can interact with multiple employers’ group chat rooms simultaneously if you wish, but you can only one-on-one chat with one employer at a time.

We wish you great success at next week’s UMUC Virtual Career Fair. Should you have questions during the event, be sure to reach out to a career advisor in the Networking Lounge or to the Info Desk if you need technical support. In addition, you can also always contact UMUC’s Career Services Office at 240-684-2720 or careerservices@umuc.edu. Good luck!

Kristin Schrader is the Associate Director of InternPLUS and Military Career Programs at University of Maryland University College. She has a background in human resources and has worked in career services at four universities. Most recently, she was the Lead Trainer in Europe for the Department of Labor Employment Workshop teaching transitioning U.S. servicemembers about the civilian job search. She is very passionate about helping others obtain their professional goals.